A long long time ago I bought a Peugot PY 10. My first road bike and I also got Duegi shoes and Binda straps. First ride I took I stopped by slowly coming to a standstill up a small hill and then ( very gracefully) fell over since my feet were solidly stuck to the pedals. That was my first (but sadly not last) application to Club Tombay.

It's a 50 + thing in that the mind fails to engage with the feet to unclip from the pedals when coming to a stop. Unless you are very good at track stands the inevitable happens and it is a mixture of "Timber"- "Tomber" (The french verb to fall) and an americanisation in which all like to be in a club (and the more exclusive it happens to be- the better) Timber and Tomber did not sound right so after the Club 18-30- it was called Club Tombay.-----Some exotic sounding area of the Pacific coast.

There are rules for entering Club Tombay and they are very simple. The fall has to be attributable to Brain fade or mechanical failure in which you fail to get the feet out of the pedals and a fall ensues. This can be any type of pedal but platform claims are scrutinised very carefully. Bonus points are added for Blood- personal injury- and bystanders showing concern for your predicament. "EXTRA" bonus points if off duty nurses render assistance or if it is recorded on video.Superficial damage to the bike and person is to be expected but severe damage to the bike can downgrade your claim as the bike should be protected at all times.

Entry is very simple and although many here are members of the Club- A certificate can be forthcoming if a post is made with "Entry to Club Tombay" in the header and a full description of the event is made. This is a new thing and cannot be awarded retrospectively. The decision for entry is then made by the 50+ members.

So this is an exclusive club that will gain you merit points amongst your peers- but do you really want to join?

OK - here are my credentials. I will leave it up to the esteemed selection committee to decide if I qualify to join.

1) I am nearly 56.
2) Last year was my first year of riding. I progressed from a hand me down mountian bike that I took for an occasional spin around the neighborhood to a Trek Hybrid that I managed to ride 1000 miles by seasons' end.
3) I bought a trainer to ride indoors this winter.
4) Come spring I took out my new (to me) Trek FX 7.5 (my first nice light bike with skinny high pressure tires)
5) On my third ride of the season (merely 60 miles into the year) and my third time ever riding clipless (man I LOVE the difference they make) I managed to topple over at a stop sign, clipped in, when my front tire 'washed out' when it dropped off a crease in the concrete.
6) Net result = cracked hip

Does that qualify me?

Heck my newbie status to clipless riding and the severity of injury should receive some recognition. Right?

OK - here are my credentials. I will leave it up to the esteemed selection committee to decide if I qualify to join.

1) I am nearly 56.
2) Last year was my first year of riding. I progressed from a hand me down mountian bike that I took for an occasional spin around the neighborhood to a Trek Hybrid that I managed to ride 1000 miles by seasons' end.
3) I bought a trainer to ride indoors this winter.
4) Come spring I took out my new (to me) Trek FX 7.5 (my first nice light bike with skinny high pressure tires)
5) On my third ride of the season (merely 60 miles into the year) and my third time ever riding clipless (man I LOVE the difference they make) I managed to topple over at a stop sign, clipped in, when my front tire 'washed out' when it dropped off a crease in the concrete.
6) Net result = cracked hip

Does that qualify me?

Heck my newbie status to clipless riding and the severity of injury should receive some recognition. Right?

There should be a Tombay Gold club for people who've been photographed sprawling on the road still clipped in.

Hi Gary!

Sadly for the victim, the Club Tombay voluntary membership motivational counselor called a foul on that picture. I'm surprised that copies of it still exist. It was indeed a sad day for the honor of "honest" membership in such a prestigious organization.

It's a 50 + thing in that the mind fails to engage with the feet to unclip from the pedals when coming to a stop. Unless you are very good at track stands the inevitable happens and it is a mixture of "Timber"- "Tomber" (The french verb to fall) and an americanisation in which all like to be in a club (and the more exclusive it happens to be- the better) Timber and Tomber did not sound right so after the Club 18-30- it was called Club Tombay.-----Some exotic sounding area of the Pacific coast.

There are rules for entering Club Tombay and they are very simple. The fall has to be attributable to Brain fade or mechanical failure in which you fail to get the feet out of the pedals and a fall ensues. This can be any type of pedal but platform claims are scrutinised very carefully. Bonus points are added for Blood- personal injury- and bystanders showing concern for your predicament. "EXTRA" bonus points if off duty nurses render assistance or if it is recorded on video.Superficial damage to the bike and person is to be expected but severe damage to the bike can downgrade your claim as the bike should be protected at all times.

Entry is very simple and although many here are members of the Club- A certificate can be forthcoming if a post is made with "Entry to Club Tombay" in the header and a full description of the event is made. This is a new thing and cannot be awarded retrospectively. The decision for entry is then made by the 50+ members.

So this is an exclusive club that will gain you merit points amongst your peers- but do you really want to join?

I am not actively seeking membership, but I do need some clarification as a platform pedal user. Is the bolded statement meant to read:

This can be any type of pedal but platform. Claims are scrutinised very carefully.

or... This can be any type of pedal, but platform claims are scrutinised very carefully.

Do you see how the difference in punctuation may impact a platform user? Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you are saying "platform claims are scrutinized very carefully", should you instead be saying "the mental/physical health of the platform user will be scrutinized very carefully", as it seems that if a platform user cannot get his/her foot off the pedal at a stop, there may be concerns more pressing than a membership into Club Tombay.

...it seems that if a platform user cannot get his/her foot off the pedal at a stop, there may be concerns more pressing than a membership into Club Tombay.

Reminds me of an old Seinfeld bit where he talked about a particular laundry detergent's advertised claims regarding its effectiveness at removing blood stains. He said if your clothes have blood stains on them to begin with, laundry may not be your biggest problem.

I am not actively seeking membership, but I do need some clarification as a platform pedal user. Is the bolded statement meant to read:

This can be any type of pedal but platform. Claims are scrutinised very carefully.

or... This can be any type of pedal, but platform claims are scrutinised very carefully.

Do you see how the difference in punctuation may impact a platform user? Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you are saying "platform claims are scrutinized very carefully", should you instead be saying "the mental/physical health of the platform user will be scrutinized very carefully", as it seems that if a platform user cannot get his/her foot off the pedal at a stop, there may be concerns more pressing than a membership into Club Tombay.

Any Pedal including platforms can qualify providing the pedal caused the fall. Normally you can get a foot off a platform pedal and not fall and this is why platform claims are scrutinised carefully-- The same as any other claim. There can be a situation where a Platform pedal can stop you being able to get your foot down to save a fall. And I have done it so I know it can be done.

This used to be something that you'd see a lot of when everybody used toe clips.

A friend of mine did that on a brand new bike he brought back from Germany back in the late '60's . He couldn't undo the leather straps because the buckles and straps were too tight and too stiff. Fell right over, both feet still in the clips.

Sadly for the victim, the Club Tombay voluntary membership motivational counselor called a foul on that picture. I'm surprised that copies of it still exist. It was indeed a sad day for the honor of "honest" membership in such a prestigious organization.

It's a 50 + thing in that the mind fails to engage with the feet to unclip from the pedals when coming to a stop. Unless you are very good at track stands the inevitable happens and it is a mixture of "Timber"- "Tomber" (The french verb to fall) and an americanisation in which all like to be in a club (and the more exclusive it happens to be- the better) Timber and Tomber did not sound right so after the Club 18-30- it was called Club Tombay.-----Some exotic sounding area of the Pacific coast.

There are rules for entering Club Tombay and they are very simple. The fall has to be attributable to Brain fade or mechanical failure in which you fail to get the feet out of the pedals and a fall ensues. This can be any type of pedal but platform claims are scrutinised very carefully. Bonus points are added for Blood- personal injury- and bystanders showing concern for your predicament. "EXTRA" bonus points if off duty nurses render assistance or if it is recorded on video.Superficial damage to the bike and person is to be expected but severe damage to the bike can downgrade your claim as the bike should be protected at all times.

Entry is very simple and although many here are members of the Club- A certificate can be forthcoming if a post is made with "Entry to Club Tombay" in the header and a full description of the event is made. This is a new thing and cannot be awarded retrospectively. The decision for entry is then made by the 50+ members.

So this is an exclusive club that will gain you merit points amongst your peers- but do you really want to join?

Where in the world did you get that idea? No way is this club reserved for those 50+. Its every bit as common an event at all ages especially when a person is new-be.

Do they get an additional cluster of Oak Leaves or a Banana Peel if they get photographed with both feet clipped in ?

That would be an "Oaf Leaf Cluster(f)". I once fell over on the street in front of a minivan. I had a bottle of Fruit Punch Gatorade in my cage. It was opened and spilled it's contents all over me, making me look like a bloody mess. I made the horrified motorist swear never to speak of this incident, ever.

Any Pedal including platforms can qualify providing the pedal caused the fall. Normally you can get a foot off a platform pedal and not fall and this is why platform claims are scrutinised carefully-- The same as any other claim. There can be a situation where a Platform pedal can stop you being able to get your foot down to save a fall. And I have done it so I know it can be done.

Thank you for clearing that up, Stapfam. I would have never thought I'd be able to blame my platform pedals for my own ineptitude! Good to know. Moreover, it is in keeping with one of my personal beliefs: "A good scapegoat is nearly as welcome as a real solution."